Practical Philosophy, Monday

[endsthegame]

Ender had always preferred to teach his classes outside whenever possible. When it became obvious the morning would be a little chilly but not rainy, he posted a note on his designated classroom's door pointing all the students towards the dorm lawn.

He sat down on the grass out there, legs folded. By his side was a bag full of sandwiches, just in case any student had missed breakfast. And there he waited, quiet and patient, until everyone had arrived.

"You'll notice I didn't bring any books," he said, once they had. "Because despite what the title of this class might imply, I'm not actually here to tell you about Hegel or Kant and what they were thinking. They might come up, but if they do, it's because they have had interesting ideas that might be useful to us."

He stretched his legs out. "My name is Andrew Wiggin, though some people call me Ender," he said, "And I don't bring books here because I don't think they have all that many answers. I don't spite them for that, because I don't exactly have a lot of answers of my own. What I have are questions, which are far more useful in the long run. You can keep asking questions as the situation changes - answers tend to be the same thing no matter when you check up on them."

He smiled wryly.

"This class is about questions," he said. "And it's about opening a dialogue with those questions. Everyone here has sat through something in their life that they have questions about - though whether they want to admit that is another thing entirely. We're here to talk about those questions as they come up. No more, no less."

He tilted his chin up - maybe at Cade, maybe at nothing in particular. "Of course, that means I expect all of you to participate," he said. "You don't have to share about yourself if you absolutely don't want to, though I'll have you know that it helps. But I expect you to talk along. If you don't, I'm not going to apologize for the kinds of questions I'll ask. While we're at it, I also won't tolerate shaming anyone in this class for any reason."

Having said that, though, Ender's mouth quirked up. "Enough with the threats," he said. "I don't believe in classic introductions - I think I know what most of your names are, and I'll learn the ones that I don't, and what year you're in is of absolutely no concern to me."

"Let's open a dialogue instead," he finished. "For some of you, this is all new. How is it working for you? Are you elated? Annoyed? Don't want to be here? Achingly happy to be here? And for those of you who aren't - how has the past year treated you? Has there been anything that made you cry or made you think or made you wonder?"

"We can talk about that. Or we can talk about something else. I'm open to talking about anything, as long as you think it's worth questioning. Because you can assume from here on in that I really don't know a thing; but maybe by educating me, you can find something worth educating yourself about."

Comments

Sign In

[endsthegame]

Like you're outside in May.

Re: Sign In

[pulseof_life]

Paddra Nsu-Yeul

Re: Sign In

[genesishero]

Evan Sabahnur

Before Class

[endsthegame]

Settle in, talk to each other, do other stuff while Ender isn't inclined to interrupt.

Re: Before Class

[pulseof_life]

Yeul settled herself on the grass, the chill in the air not bothering her, and waited serenely for class to start.

Re: Before Class

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Sholeh gave Yeul a smile. "Do you mind if I sit near you today?" she asked, rather shyly. She'd been busy hiding and avoiding people, so she wasn't sure where she stood with any of them.

Re: Before Class

[genesishero]

Evan wasn't screaming it from rooftops or anything, but it really was good to be getting back to classes, back to something organized, that made some lick of sense, again. He was smiling a bit as he found a seat for himself, though there was always a touch of nervousness fluttering around his insides when it came to starting a new class with an unfamiliar teacher.

At least he knew some of his classmates. That would help.

Re: Before Class

[nothornlessrose.livejournal.com]

Cassidy found a spot to sit in and then smiled when she realized Evan was in the class, too. She gave him a small wave in greeting.

Re: Before Class

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

...Speaking of people she didn't know where she stood with, there was Evan, sitting on the grass and waiting for class to start.

She searched for something smart to say, or useful, or anything to bridge the gap that she'd created between them. Nothing cam to mind.

"Hi?"

It was the best she could do.

Re: Before Class

[makemyownway.livejournal.com]

Well, Cade was going to eat some of those sandwiches because kark it, free food. If he had to be up this early, there should be an incentive to show up.

Re: Before Class

[justbeingbay]

Huh. Outside class and the teacher was on the young and cute side, though something about him made him definitely not a kid. Bay could handle this. She spread out on the ground, idly picking through the grass for four-leaved clovers as she tried to size up her fellow students.

Re: Before Class

[reven8e.livejournal.com]

Emily settled quietly, checking who else was in this class. She also took a sandwich because hey, food right?

Listen to the Lecture

[endsthegame]

Pay attention, or don't - but keep in mind interruption is a risk here.

Talk.

[endsthegame]

Answer Ender's questions. How is it all working out for you? Feel free to make this messy.

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

"This past year has been the first in a long time that I have remained in one place," Yeul said, smiling softly. "I have made friends here. It had not occurred to me that I would but I enjoy the change."

Re: Talk.

[endsthegame]

"Why hadn't it occurred to you?" Ender asked. "Has it never been an issue for you?"

Re: Talk.

[genesishero]

Evan gave his toes a scuff against the lawn, quietly picking a few blades of grass before he nerved himself to speak up.

"The year started out pretty good," he decided. "I mean... Here isn't home, but it's usually a pretty good place to be. I made some friends, I got a job in the library, and a dog. And people here have been pretty great. A lot of them understand things, or are willing to give me a chance where some people back home probably never will."

More than just bullies, back home. People were cruel in ways that Evan had never been able to imagine.

"I had a bad trip back to my own reality a little while ago," he pressed on, after a deep breath, "and I found out some things about myself and about people I cared for that have been hard to shake. So... a lot of that is still following me here, I think. I'm less sure of where I stand, and what I should do when things go badly."

Re: Talk.

[pulseof_life]

Oh, Evan.

Yeul shot him a gentle smile, hoping it would be a small comfort. She didn't really have anything to say that she hadn't said to him before but it seemed wrong to just... let his words pass without reaction.

Re: Talk.

[makemyownway.livejournal.com]

"I don't want to be here."

Thank you, Cade. Very helpful.

Re: Talk.

[justbeingbay]

"It's going, I guess?" Bay said, trying to figure out how to sum everything up. "We had, um, a change in my family situation almost two years ago and since then ... there's kind of a lot of drama at home. Stuff just keeps on coming. It's maybe a little sad that here is calmer when it's not, y'know, trying to kill me."

Re: Talk.

[nothornlessrose.livejournal.com]

It took Cassidy some time to gather her thoughts and figure out how to express everything she had been thinking and feeling.

"This past year has been really hard in some ways," she finally started. "Besides the things the island has thrown at us, I've dealt with feelings I've never had before, like envy and jealousy." She sounded really, really confused about that, but it was also tinged with guilt. "I'm more than a little frightened of the year to come, though."

Re: Talk.

[reven8e.livejournal.com]

"Considering I come from a world without magic or super science or mutants or basically most things bizarre, I guess I'm just adapting as best and fast as I can," Emily said as she waved a hand. "In all honesty, half the time I just try not to think about what's going on."

Re: Talk.

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Sholeh had many, many answers to Mr. Wiggin's questions and many, many questions of her own. For once, though, she wasn't tripping over herself to say or ask any of them.

"I--I--I--" Sholeh wasn't entirely sure what she was even trying to say, and so stopped. "I've been here for a year now."

There. That seemed safest.

Talk to the Teacher

[endsthegame]

He's around both before and after class, for anyone who wants to approach him privately.

OOC

[endsthegame]

So. Excited.